One of the characters you will encounter in Noverat is Dakkal, which some of you may remember from the "Last Caravan[tavern-games.com]" short story.

Not much is known about Dakkal except that he has traveled a great deal in his time. In his youth he used to venture through the most remote areas of Kalandria as a treasure seeker, some say, looking for artefacts and other remnants from the time of the Shapers. He has even braved the Petrified Waste, with its traps that turn any living thing into stone and the Gheonoi, always searching for "shinies" and fierce to protect their lairs. Whether he actually found anything of great value during those times remains unknown and he's quick to chase away anyone who asks him about it.

When his adventuring days were over, Dakkal started running errands for the Engineers Guild, leading caravans and trading for the Guild. Soon after that he was able to purchase a merchant's license in his own name, but despite any wealth he might have accumulated over the years, he has never considered settling down. Thus it is that now, despite his old age, he still roams Kalandria at the head of caravans, living the simple life of a traveler.

In Noverat you will be playing as Jay'Dan and you will be weaving his story the way you want it. But here is his story previous to the events in the game.

As a child, Jay'Dan was very intrigued by stories of the Shapers, particularly about the technologies that were said to have existed during those ancient times. That knowledge was all but lost now, but Jay'Dan would dream about setting off on a journey through the wildest regions of Kalandria, were no man had set foot since the departure of the Shapers. There he would explore ruins, find secret passages, escape traps and battle ancient guardians left behind by the Shapers to protect the precious knowledge from falling into the wrong hands.

Those dreams never came true however. At a very young age he was taken into apprenticeship by the blacksmith in Tynam, a mining settlement in the Iron Mounds. His superstitious master soon beat all thoughts of the Shapers out of him. So he set out to work hard at the forge, his innate curiosity helping him learn advanced weapon forging techniques quickly.

So we was soon able to move to Valleon, the largest settlement in the Iron Mounds, where the former blacksmith left him his forge. Jay'Dan was able to turn it into the greatest source of trading power for Valleon by building the most significant bloomery furnace in the Mounds. This unique structure allows him to smelt the highest grade iron from the ore brought up from the surrounding mines. Now Jay'Dan turns a decent business creating high-grade wrought iron widgets and bars for the alchemists and engineers of Carrendane, and has the highest turnover of steel weapons compared to the other two smithies at Elquin and Tynam. This supply of high quality weaponry and specialist tools means that Valleon has become the significant trading stop for the merchant caravans travelling between the Iron Mounds and Farnarium.

In his early thirties now, Jay'Dan is content with his lot in life. He knows his smithy plays a significant role in the survival of Valleon, and is happy to know that his can provide for himself and his town with the skill of his own hands. He does not see himself as a warrior, despite having a greater strength than many of the trappers and miners that live in the town. When in their cups, men will laugh and challenge each other to try wrestling the "Iron Bear", but Jay'Dan never indulges the challengers.

He has no family; womenfolk are scarce enough in the mining settlements of the Iron Mounds. The closest thing he has to a family member is his striker apprentice, Wesley. He knows the boy's heart is not in smithing, but he hopes tobreak through the boy's daydreaming and teach him the way of the anvil and hammer to save the boy from a miner's life.

Here is an a description of Kalandria, the land in which the action of Noverat takes place. I've also written a short story[noverat.tavern-games.com] with events that happen a some time before the action of the game. Enjoy!

Dominated by four autonomous cities and their trade roads, Kalandria is a land of great diversity. To the north, the landscape is barren and rocky, and the Petrified Waste with its stone traps holds many dangers to the unwary traveler. It is where the hunchbacked Gheonoi live. They are excellent scavengers, and are renown for taking anything of significance they might find.

To the north-east lies the Whisperer Forest or the Land of Eternal Autumn, an island separated from the mainland by the Twin Rivers. It is covered with dense forestry that no longer grows nor dies, but rests in a perpetual autumn. The inhabitants of this land are the Whisperers, distant cousins of the Gheonoi and Men. They are tall, pale skinned and graceful, their bodies covered with swirling tattoos. The Whisperers themselves are eternal as their forest, and they're said to posses some of the mistgrace spells taught to the by the Shapers.

The western region of Kalandria is wild and rugged. The thickly wooded land around Brandurum has resulted in a deep culture of woodwork and lumbering taking root in the settlement. To the south west, the landscape hardly has any resources to exploit and has become the home of bandits and thieves. It is said they have even built themselves a city, hidden in the mountains.

The eastern side of Kalandria is under the influence of Carrendane, the elected capital city, an epicentre of technology and cultural development. Among the most important imports of the city are ores, tools, and weapons from the Iron Mounds, a cluster of mineral-rich hills to the south-east of Kalandria. The hills are littered with mines, prospecting sites and their accompanying townships. It is here, in the Iron Mounds, more specifically in the settlement of Valleon, that the story of Noverat begins.